First Tribal Council to Block Data Center Development on Tribal Lands
In a landmark unanimous vote, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma has become one of the first Native American Tribes to enact a complete moratorium on data center development within its jurisdiction.
On March 7, the Nation’s Tribal Council approved a resolution by a 24-0 vote to “implement a moratorium on the advancement of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and hyperscale data center development within the Seminole Nation and within tribal lands and territories.” The resolution bars “any inquiries, discussions and/or developments concerning any entity seeking to develop a data center of any size within the Seminole Nation during the moratorium period.”
“This is the threshold. There’s no turning back. Once we’ve used up and contaminated all of our water sources, this is it,” said Mekusukey Band Representative Glen Chebon Kernell, who introduced the resolution. “My hope, my prayer, is that the stance we’ve taken will serve as a catalyst for all Indigenous communities to provide resistance to any kind of extractive developments that will harm their people, their communities, and this Earth. I also hope that it serves as a catalyst for relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to blossom out of respect for the world we want around us.”
“Voting in favor of the resolution regarding data centers on the Seminole Nation Reservation meant protecting both present and future community health,” said Seminole Nation General Council Representative Monique Carpitcher. “This health encompasses our nation’s ethical character as well as the health of our land, children, and families.”
“We’re just one voice of a growing tidal wave of concerns,” Kernell added. “Our fight is just one small piece of a collective puzzle.”
Honor the Earth, an Indigenous-led climate justice nonprofit, partnered with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma in their opposition to data center proliferation. The organization provided Kernell and the Tribal Council with resources, including data and fact sheets highlighting the many harms of hyperscale data centers.
“We applaud the Seminole Nation for their leadership on this issue, and we look forward to other tribal leaders following suit,” said Krystal Two Bulls, executive director of Honor the Earth. “As Sovereign Nations, we need not participate in the extractive colonial systems of generative AI and hyperscale data centers or their false, predatory economic promises at the expense of our lands and waters, communities and economies, security and sovereignty.”
Kernell proposed the data center moratorium after a start-up corporation approached the Tribal Council, asking them first to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and a letter of intention to develop a data center on Seminole lands.
He sounded the alarm at an emergency town hall on March 3, where dozens of Tribal members and non-Indigenous neighbors from surrounding communities voiced concerns about the proposed project, citing environmental damage caused by data centers.
“We’ve been working for months to raise awareness about how harmful these data centers are on the Earth and on human beings,” Kernell said. “When the public found out, there was really not a lot of argument.”
From the Southwest to the Great Lakes, Indigenous communities are rising up against tech companies seeking to build AI infrastructure on their land and water. In 2025, Honor the Earth launched the No Data Centers Coalition to connect these efforts into a unified movement for Indigenous-led climate justice.